


Listen To Me

by awoogah123



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andreil, Cute, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Scars, Soft andrew, Sort of whump, aaron stands up for neil, andrew looks after neil, neil cries, neil is sad, neil's on pr duty, soft neil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:35:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27577276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awoogah123/pseuds/awoogah123
Summary: “Do you trust me, Abram?” Andrew asked.“Of course,” Neil said softly.“Then listen to me.”A journalist makes a comment that leaves Neil in a bad place, Andrew wants to help him.
Relationships: Neil Josten & Aaron Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 14
Kudos: 366





	Listen To Me

“Neil and Aaron,” Wymack called over the team’s celebrations after yet _another_ win, “you two are on PR duty.” Neil wished he’d imagined those words, but the expectant look on Wymack’s face told him he hadn’t. Neil _hated_ PR duty, and to make matters even _worse_ , he was expected to do it with Aaron. Double whammy. After a few hitches at the beginning of his career with the Foxes, Neil had mostly been excused from PR duty, but well into his second year, he couldn’t avoid it forever. It was only a matter of time.

“Really, Coach?” Aaron groaned before Neil had the chance to sound his complaints.

“Really,” Wymack nodded. “Now, hurry up and get your asses out there.” Neil glanced over to Andrew who just gave him a small shrug,

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Andrew said softly, so only Neil could hear him. “Don’t get yourself into any more fights.”

“You have a very low opinion of me,” Neil muttered, a smirk playing on his lips. Andrew shook his head but just headed toward the locker room with the other Foxes.

“And Aaron,” Wymack called, before the two of them left, “keep an eye on Neil. It’d be good if he _didn’t_ find a way to get himself killed.” Aaron muttered something under his breath in response, and Neil could _imagine_ the sort of thing it was; he scowled at Aaron as he followed him down the hallway.

The PR room was filled with handfuls of journalists, Neil and Aaron stood at the front of the room, hair stuck to their heads with sweat and cheeks flushed from the arduous game they’d just played.

“How was the game?”

“Are you proud of yourselves?”

“How are you going to celebrate?”

Neil let the questions flood over him, offering a couple of short replies to a few of the journalists. Mostly, Aaron handled all the talking. Neil looked on, amused, it was strange to see how amiable Aaron could make himself look in front of a couple of cameras.

“Neil,” a reporter to the side of the room called. “ _Neil_!” Neil’s gaze landed on a small woman at the edge of the crowd, she had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and was holding a microphone out. She was wearing a grin that Neil couldn’t tell whether it was more kind or menacing. “How are you feeling? Are you happy with the win?”

“Oh, yeah,” Neil nodded. “I’m really proud of the whole team, it was an amazing win.”

“And you’ve come so far,” the lady said, it sounded like more of a question than a statement. Neil shifted his weight from one foot to the other,

“Erm, yeah,” Neil murmured, running a hand through his hair. “Thanks.”

“You’ve changed so much since you first joined the Foxes,” the lady continued. “I mean, with _everything_. Not only with technique, but also with looks. You used to be so handsome.”

“Excuse me?” Neil asked, eyebrows flying up. He knew what he _thought_ the lady was implying, he just wasn’t sure whether it was _actually_ happening.

“Well,” the lady said, sighing dramatically. “It must be hard, looking in the mirror every day,” she gestured to her own face. “Y’know, compared to what used to be.” Neil opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t find any words. Suddenly, he wanted Andrew more than anything. His heart started to race.

“Well, that was rude,” Aaron said, stepping up beside Neil.

“I’m sorry?” the lady said, brow furrowing slightly.

“What makes you think you have the right to ask him that?” Aaron demanded, looking at the lady with the same fury in his eyes that Andrew had. Neil watched on with surprise.

“It was just a question,” the lady mumbled, cheeks growing red as more eyes landed on her.

“Yeah, a _ridiculous_ one,” Aaron spat, shaking his head. “Go fuck yourself. Come on, Josten, we’re leaving.” It took Neil a moment to realise what Aaron was saying, but when he saw Aaron was facing him, he gave a small nod and followed him out of the room.

Once the door had shut behind them, Neil’s shoulders slumped, heart racing as he tried to catch his breath. Neil absentmindedly traced the worst of his scars with his left hand.

“ _Stop_ ,” Aaron ordered, grabbing Neil’s arm and pulling it away from his face. When Aaron was like this, Neil could almost fool himself into thinking it was Andrew. _Almost_. “Are you okay?” Aaron asked, voice softening slightly.

“I’m fine,” Neil said, his own voice sounded like it was coming from a million miles away. Aaron rolled his eyes.

“Of course you are,” Aaron muttered. He looked at Neil a moment longer before shaking his head and turning to make his way down the corridor.

“Hey, Aaron,” Neil called out, Aaron turned around. “Thank y—”

“Don’t,” Aaron said, raising a hand to silence Neil. “You don’t have to thank me.”

Neil watched as the door locker room door swung shut behind Aaron, he knew he should follow him, he just didn’t think he could. Not yet. 

Neil was always aware of his scars. Whenever he looked at his own reflection, he saw them, when he met a stranger for the first time, they were the first thing they looked at. And after a while, he got used to it. It wasn’t as if he _liked_ the way he looked, but the majority of the time he could ignore it. But sometimes, certain looks or comments – like the ones from the journalist – got to him, and his scars felt like the most prominent thing about him. Ever since Aaron had dragged him out of the PR room, Neil had been feeling a little more self-conscious, although he’d never admit to it. He hadn’t told Andrew about the incident, it was unnecessary worry – Neil was fine. He’d survived more than a couple of hurt feelings before.

Neil’s wardrobe had changed _drastically_ since he first joined the Foxes, the majority of the clothes he had arrived with had been chucked out and replaced with expensive garments – courtesy of either Andrew or Allison. Although on some days, he didn’t _want_ to wear the skinny jeans or tight-fitted t-shirts that _barely_ covered his scars – he wanted to be comfortable. Of course, Neil would rather wear a pair of sweatpants and one of Andrew’s hoodies _all_ the time, but that wasn’t really acceptable. Instead, he opted for a pair of his old jeans – baggy, and a little frayed at the bottom – and one of Andrew’s hoodies, because that was _just_ about tolerable.

Andrew was still in bed, watching on as Neil quickly pulled his clothes on.

“Why are you wearing your old jeans?” Andrew asked, making Neil jump. He hadn’t even realised Andrew was _awake_.

“What?” Neil asked, glancing up to face Andrew. “Oh, erm, I wanted to wear something comfortable.”

“Are the ones I got for you _not_ comfortable?” Andrew asked, quirking a brow.

“No, they are,” Neil babbled, “it’s just... I wanted to wear something familiar.” Andrew took this without a question and just gave Neil a slight nod.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked, sitting up, resting his back against the headboard. Neil glanced at the watch on his wrist – he had at least forty minutes until his first class started – he had _more_ than enough time to sit around with Andrew for a while. But a little niggling thought told him that he didn’t want to sit around with Andrew, he wanted to be alone.

“Erm, I’ve got to go in a second,” Neil said, glancing to the bedroom door. Andrew raised his eyebrows slightly – he knew Neil’s timetable off by heart, and he knew that Neil wouldn’t have to leave for a while now. Still, he wouldn’t call him out on it; it was clear that something was bothering Neil. “But, can we kiss?”

“Yes,” Andrew said, eyes following Neil as he made his way round the side of the bed. The kiss they shared was short but sweet, and Andrew wished Neil would just tell him what was bothering him. He wasn’t going to force him to, though.

“See you later,” Neil said, slowly pulling away from Andrew.

“Bye,” Andrew said, watching Neil as he fled the bedroom. 

Over the next couple of weeks, Neil fell into a habit of wearing his old clothes. They covered more of his body, and although they didn’t hide the scars on his face – no item of clothing could do that – he felt more comfortable in them. As if they made him blend in. And it didn’t go unnoticed, either.

“ _Neil_ ,” Allison gasped when they were heading into practice one day. “I thought we’d gotten past this,” she said, gesturing to his outfit. “I thought I’d bought you enough clothes that you’d never have to dress like _this_ again.” Neil shrugged her off with a chuckle, and luckily, Allison had got distracted by Renee.

It happened a couple of days later, too, when Neil was heading to his dorm. Matt was stepping out of his own dorm, no doubt on his way to see Dan.

“Neil!” Matt called, stepping forward with a wide grin on his face. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Neil said, offering him a weak smile. He noticed Matt make note of his outfit.

“Hey, if you need to borrow some laundry detergent or something, just let me know.”

“Thanks, man,” Neil said, quickly rushing off to his own dorm. Recently, Neil was in no mood to talk to _anyone_. Apart from Andrew. Andrew _understood_ Neil, and when he could tell he wasn’t in a good place, he wouldn’t push him, he wouldn’t make him talk – his presence was enough. 

The Foxes were having a movie night, and as Neil sat in the girls’ dorm, he couldn’t even bring himself to pull his hood down. He was feeling a little sensitive after a trip to the library that morning – a probably completely innocent look from some freshman girl had been playing on his mind all day. He was sure she’d been staring at his scars, disgusted by his ruined face.

“What’s this?” Nicky asked, reaching out and toying with the edge of Neil’s hood. “Are you cold, or something?”

“A little,” Neil shrugged, wishing everyone’s attention would just return to the movie.

“You should have told us,” Dan said. “We can get you a blanket.”

“Yeah, the thug look _really_ doesn’t suit you,” Allison said, raising a brow. The look Andrew gave her made her clamp her mouth shut and quickly turn back to the movie, Neil squeezed Andrew’s hand in a silent show of gratitude. Neil _loved_ Allison, but sometimes she was a bit much. Not that Neil could really blame her right now, though – she wasn’t in his head, how was _she_ supposed to know how he was feeling?

After the movie, Neil had headed straight back to his dorm. He was laying in bed, waiting for Andrew to join him, when he heard Andrew and Kevin speaking in hushed voices just outside the room. Neil watched on with interest as Andrew walked into the room alone.

“Where’s Kevin?”

“He’s crashing with the others tonight,” Andrew said, shucking his shoes and his hoodie until he was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He stripped his armbands off as he slid into bed beside Neil.

“Did you send him away?” Neil asked quietly, rolling over to face Andrew. He _loved_ spending time with Andrew alone, but he wasn’t really in the mood to do anything tonight. He hoped that Andrew didn’t have his hopes up. But that was ridiculous, of course, Andrew would _never_ expect anything of Neil.

”Maybe,” Andrew shrugged, pulling the duvet up higher around the two of them. Neil was quiet for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip.

“I don’t think I want to _do_ anything tonight,” Neil whispered.

“Don’t insult me,” Andrew said, turning to face Neil.

“Sorry,” Neil murmured, not quite catching Andrew’s eye.

“Don’t apologise,” Andrew said, intense stare boring into Neil’s face. “Will you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Neil shrugged, gaze flickering up to meet Andrew’s. Andrew gave him a bored look.

“Stop lying to me,” Andrew said. “I know what happened, Aaron told me.” Neil’s shoulders slumped – he was equal parts happy and pissed off that Aaron had told Andrew.

“It doesn’t matter,” Neil shook his head.

“If it matters to you, then it does,” Andrew said.

“I’m used to people making comments,” Neil said.

“Doesn’t make it hurt any less,” Andrew pointed out.

“It’s fine,” Neil said. “And anyway, Aaron put her in her place.”

“So, maybe he’s _not_ so useless,” Andrew said, quirking a brow slightly.

“Hm, I guess not,” Neil agreed, suppressing a yawn.

They lay in bed like that for a little while, neither one speaking, just laying side by side. Neil could tell from Andrew’s uneven breathing that he was just as awake as he was.

“Andrew,” Neil said quietly, he watched as Andrew turned to face him. “Do you think I’m ugly?”Andrew stayed silent, just staring at Neil blankly. Neil opened his mouth to prompt Andrew, but he beat him to it,

“Yes, Neil,” Andrew said plainly. “I think you’re _hideous_ , and I _hate_ you. Every time I see you, I see something a little more ugly about you, and it makes me hate you even more.” If anyone else had said this, Neil might have been offended, but as he listened to Andrew, he felt the grip around his heart tighten.

“Thank you,” Neil said finally, barely above a whisper. Andrew put a hand out and waited for Neil to take it. Andrew gave Neil’s hand a squeeze and ran his thumb over the scars that crisscrossed the back of Neil’s hand.

“Don’t be stupid,” Andrew said.

“Goodnight, Andrew,” Neil said. He was sure Andrew wasn’t going to reply, when he said,

“300%.”

For the first time in weeks, Neil smiled. 

“Why aren’t the others coming again?” Neil asked, dragging his finger up and down the cool glass of the window. Andrew glanced over from the driver’s seat,

“I told you,” Andrew said. “Aaron’s with Katelyn, Nicky’s FaceTiming Erik, and Kevin’s staying with Wymack.” Neil nodded, although it didn’t make sense. A couple of times before Aaron had brought Katelyn to Columbia with him, Nicky had FaceTimed Erik in Columbia _countless_ times, and Kevin never normally stayed with Wymack unprovoked. It almost seemed as if Andrew had set this up so that they would be alone together.

“Are we going clubbing tonight?” Neil asked, finally pulling his gaze away from the window.

“Do you _want_ to go clubbing tonight?” Andrew asked. Neil had never wanted to do anything less. Well, that was an exaggeration, but the point was, he really _didn’t_ want to go clubbing.

“I don’t mind,” Neil said, he didn’t want to make Andrew miss out.

“We’re staying at home tonight,” Andrew said suddenly, Neil couldn’t hide the small smile that graced his lips.

It was already evening by the time they got to the house in Columbia and Neil went upstairs to shower whilst Andrew ordered takeout. Neil had perfected the art of avoiding looking at his reflection, and he didn’t even spare a single glance at the mirror that was hung up opposite the shower. He didn’t want to be reminded of how ugly he was.

Andrew was sat on the couch when Neil joined him, the food spread out on the coffee table and his eyes glued to the TV. Neil dropped down beside him and picked at a plate of food, he didn’t feel too hungry.

After _at least_ an hour of nursing the same spoonful of rice, Andrew reached out and pulled Neil’s plate away from him.

“You want to go upstairs?” Andrew asked, placing the plate on the coffee table.

“Sure,” Neil shrugged, stuffing his empty hands into the pocket of Andrew’s oversized hoodie.

“I’ll be up in a second,” Andrew said, glancing back at Neil as he made his way out of the living room.

Avoiding the mirrors in Columbia was a lot harder, there seemed to be one everywhere Neil turned. He strategically placed his jacket over the mirror that stood in the dresser in the bedroom, he hoped Andrew wouldn’t notice. Of course he did.

As soon as Andrew stepped into the room, his eyes were immediately drawn to the hidden mirror. His gaze flicked between Neil and the mirror.

“You’ve hidden the mirror,” Andrew observed, slowly making his way towards Neil who was perched on the edge of the bed.

“By accident,” Neil shrugged. “I just threw my jacket on the dresser.” Andrew raised a sceptical brow,

“That’s what a _hook_ is for, Josten.”

“My bad,” Neil said, forcing out a small laugh. Andrew dropped onto the bed beside Neil with a sigh.

“Will you talk to me?” Andrew asked, turning to face Neil.

“About what?” Neil asked, brow creasing slightly.

“About what’s going on in there,” Andrew said, lightly tapping Neil’s temple. “You’re not fine, so don’t even _think_ about saying that to me.” Neil paused for a minute, it would be a lot easier to just tell Andrew the truth. Plus, he _hated_ lying to him. He took a deep breath,

“I guess I’ve just been feeling down recently,” Neil shrugged. “That journalist’s words affected me more than I thought.”

“I thought you said you didn’t care about what you looked like,” Andrew said, tone soft and not at all judgemental.

“I don’t—I didn’t,” Neil paused. “But I _do_ care when my scars all that people look at. I hate the comments, and the sympathetic looks. The disgusted ones are even worse.”

“No one else’s opinion matters,” Andrew said, reaching up to brush Neil’s hair off his forehead.

“I know,” Neil sighed. “But that’s _my_ opinion too. I mean, I can’t blame them. They _do_ look horrible. I hate th—”

“Shut up,” Andrew said, bringing a hand up to cover Neil’s mouth and stop him from talking. “Don’t even finish that sentence.” Neil’s shoulders sagged as he swallowed his words.

Andrew pulled his hand away from Neil’s cheek, and softly stroked the scars that covered Neil’s left cheek. He leant forward, until his face was right up against Neil’s.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” Neil breathed. Andrew closed the small space between them, planting soft kisses up and down Neil’s cheeks.

“Never let anyone make you feel like this again, okay?” Andrew asked, holding Neil’s face between his palms as he looked Neil in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” Neil whispered.

“And _stop_ apologising,” Andrew huffed, but his soft expression belied his words. “You’re not ugly, Abram. You never were, and you never will be.”

“But—”

“Do you trust me, Abram?” Andrew asked.

“Of course,” Neil said softly.

“Then listen to me.”

Andrew’s words were a great comfort to Neil, and he instantly regretted not telling Andrew in the first place. Who had he been trying to protect? He only realised Andrew had gotten up when he cleared his throat, Neil glanced up to see Andrew standing beside the dresser.

“What are you doing?” Neil asked, watching as Andrew pulled Neil’s jacket off the mirror.

“Showing you how beautiful you are,” Andrew said, shifting the mirror around so that Neil could see his reflection in it. The boy staring back at him had his father’s hair, his father’s eyes, but he _wasn’t_ his father. He had scars up and down both sides of his face, but his scars _didn’t_ define him. His eyes were red-rimmed and he didn’t even notice he was crying until he saw a couple tears slide down his cheeks.

“Thank you, Andrew,” Neil sniffed, eyes following Andrew as he walked over to him.

“I hate you,” Andrew said, leaning forward to pull Neil into a long kiss. And it was like a weight had been lifted off his chest. Neil could relax.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Please leave kudos and a comment if you enjoyed it!! :)


End file.
